BEIJING J.T. Compher Womens Jersey , Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- China's only rural policy bank plans to lend about 100 billion yuan (15.9 billion U.S. dollars) by 2020 to support the maritime economy.

The financing will mainly go to modern fisheries, strategic and emerging maritime sectors such as maritime medicine and renewable energy, as well as infrastructure and public services, according to guidelines issued by the State Oceanic Administration and the Agricultural Development Bank of China.

The rural policy bank's announcement came about 10 days after the country's central bank and other government agencies decided to strengthen financial support for China's maritime economy by increasing bank loans and diversifying financing channels.

The gross output of China's maritime industry grew by 7.5 percent annually on average over the past five years Carl Soderberg Womens Jersey , accounting for nearly 10 percent of the country's GDP. The sector generated 7.8 trillion yuan last year.

China expects the maritime industry to be worth 10 trillion yuan by 2020 and account for around 15 percent of GDP by 2035.

An electronic screen displaying trading data is seen at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, the United States, on Feb. 5, 2018. U.S. stocks closed sharply lower on Monday Blake Comeau Womens Jersey , with the Dow plummeting 4.60 percent, as the market took a heavy hit from panic sales. (XinhuaWang Ying)

NEW YORK, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks closed sharply lower on Monday, with the Dow plummeting 4.60 percent Alexander Kerfoot Womens Jersey , as the market took a heavy hit from panic sales.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,175.21 points, or 4.60 percent, to 24 Sven Andrighetto Womens Jersey ,345.75. The S&P 500 slumped 113.19 points, or 4.10 percent, to 2,648.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index sank 273.42 points Tyson Barrie Womens Jersey , or 3.78 percent, to 6,967.53.

Monday's rout extended a steep sell-off from the previous session. On Friday, U.S. stocks plunged Semyon Varlamov Womens Jersey , with the Dow slumping over 650 points, as investors worried that the Federal Reserve may hike rates on a faster pace after an upbeat jobs report.

U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 200,000 in January, beating market consensus Patrick Roy Womens Jersey , and the unemployment rate stayed unchanged at 4.1 percent, the Labor Department reported Friday.

Analysts said the market is now thinking about the possibility of the Fed raising interest rates four times this year, after the central bank in December suggested three more increases in 2018.

Investor sentiment was also dampened by a global rout in stock markets. Most European and Asian equity markets finished sharply lower Monday, with Japanese stocks suffering their biggest one-day drop since Nov. 9 Mikko Rantanen Womens Jersey , 2016.

On the economic front, the ISM Non-Manufacturing Index registered 59.9 percent in January, 3.9 percentage points higher than the seasonally adjusted December reading and beating market consensus of 56.2, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said Monday.

Meanwhile Gabriel Landeskog Womens Jersey , the seasonally adjusted final IHS Markit U.S. Services Business Activity Index registered 53.3 in January, in line with market expectations.

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WASHINGTON， Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. economy risks getting stuck in a prolonged period of low-growth amid slowing productivity and a shrinking middle class， the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned.

The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 1.2 percent in the second quarter this year， following a downwardly revised 0.8 percent gain in the first quarter， according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. That marked the third straight quarter in which the U.S. economy grew at lower than 2 percent， the weakest period in four years.

The weaker-than-expected economic data underscores the continuing frustration about the current U.S. recovery， which has repeatedly failed to shift to higher gear in the past seven years.

The U.S. economy has grown at an average pace of 2.1 percent since the recession ended in the mid-2009， registering the weakest U.S. economic expansion since World War II. During the postwar period up to the current recession (1947-2007)， the average annual growth rate for the United States was 3.4 percent.

The IMF warned in June that the United States faces ""potentially significant longer-term challenges"" to strong and sustained growth， including a shrinking labor force and middle class.

""A rising share of the U.S. labor force is shifting into retirement， basic infrastructure is crumbling， productivity gains are scanty， and labor markets and businesses appear less adept at reallocating human and physical capital，"" the IMF said in a report after concluding its annual economic health check on the U.S. economy.

""These growing headwinds are overlaid by pernicious secular trends in income: labor's share of income is around 5 percent lower today than it was 15 years ago， the middle class has shrunk to its smallest size in the last 30 years， the income and wealth distribution are increasingly polarized， and poverty has risen，"" the report said.

Christine Lagarde， managing director of the IMF， highlighted ""four forces"" that would pose challenges to the future growth for the U.S. economy -- declining labor force participation， weak productivity growth， increasing polarization in distribution of income and wealth， and a rising population in poverty.

These forces would not only exert important economic but also political impact on the United States， Lagarde said， warning that the rising trade protectionism touted in the current U.S. presidential campaign would not be conducive to productivity growth.

The IMF called on Washington to resist all forms of protectionism， increase infrastructure investment， reform corporate income tax and upgrade social programs for the nonworking poor， in order to secure sustainable growth.

""If left unchecked， these forces will continue to drag down both potential and ac.